Is every team that loses Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cursed?
With the Nuggets struggling to start the 2024-25 season, it’s time to wonder if every team that loses Kentavious Caldwell-Pope becomes cursed.
Years ago, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joined the Lakers in hilarious and meme-able fashion. After fumbling the bag in Detroit, KCP, a Klutch client, signed a big one-year deal with the Lakers, coincidentally just one season before the team would be looking to sign LeBron James, also a Klutch client.
A marriage of convenience quickly became something much more. KCP became a beloved role player who played a huge role in the team winning the NBA championship inside the bubble.
His unceremonious departure signaled a downturn for the Lakers competitively as they’ve been nowhere near the title contenders they were with him.
While the initial assumption would be that other things also played into that downfall, a glance at every team that has moved on from KCP shows a perhaps interesting trend...
Are teams that lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cursed?
Let’s take a closer look:
Detroit Pistons
KCP’s career began with the Pistons, where he spent the first four years of his career. During that span, the franchise went to the playoffs once and was a fairly mediocre Eastern Conference team.
Since his departure, they’ve slowly devolved to arguably the worst team in the NBA. After winning 142 games with KCP in four years, they’ve won 174 games in seven seasons without him.
They completely bottomed out in the 2023-24 season with a 28-game losing streak. Is this all because they didn’t sign KCP to an extension? Who’s to say, really?
Los Angeles Lakers
After a...rocky first season in Los Angeles, KCP helped the Lakers go from the lottery to an NBA title. In the bubble, he averaged the third-most minutes per game, trailing only LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The following season, the Lakers were a title contender once again before injuries ravaged the team. That year, KCP was third on the team in minutes played and only two players played more than his 67 games.
However, he was traded that summer for Russell Westbrook and the Lakers haven’t been the same since. They missed the playoffs entirely the following season and have looked far, far removed from the title contenders they were in his last two seasons in purple and gold.
Washington Wizards
KCP spent one season in Washington after the Westbrook trade. Since the 2018-19 season, the Wizards have not won more games than the 35 they won in 2021-22 with KCP.
However, KCP was traded to Denver for two subpar role players after that one season. Shockingly, that trade didn’t work out well.
Their KCP replacement eventually became Jordan Poole. Washington then went on to have 15 wins last season, finishing one game better than the aforementioned Pistons.
Denver Nuggets
The positive impact of KCP was further solidified when he landed in Denver. In his first season, he helped them win a title as part of a juggernaut of a starting five. The Nuggets were one of the favorites the next season before a collapse in Game 7.
In the summer, Denver let him walk and replaced him with Westbrook in a completely unprecedented move. Surely completely unrelated, they have looked far, far from the title contenders they were early in the 2024-25 season.
So, does losing KCP curse a franchise? Well, the evidence certainly leans in a certain direction! And if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the Orlando Magic absolutely can not let him leave their franchise.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.